A good friend shared this quote with me while we were talking about false ideologies being taught en masse at a certain university.
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you…
2 Peter 2:1-3
These words are haunting when we consider the modern landscape where many are unaware of the vast web of manipulation that covers us and that we are all a part of to one degree or another.
We are the merchandise.
Huge websites sell for millions or even billions because of how good they are at capturing human attention. The software isn’t the only thing being purchased, it is the attention it generates.
That attention can be monetized. Ads are inserted, your behavior is manipulated, all to generate profit. There is nothing inherently unethical about advertising, but this goes beyond simply trying to change a product.
What if you could alter society, culture, thinking, etc. not for the good of society, but for the good of those doing the engineering of society who may not have your best interest at heart.
One of the most important skills we can cultivate for ourselves and our children is the ability to discern truth from error. In our day and age, it is critical to know how to think and how to find truth.
This makes the Holy Spirit more important of a gift to us in our time than perhaps in any other.
The scriptures grow more and more valuable as sources of truth as the world descends into a feigned reality where information and thought are controlled and profit is prioritized over everything and everyone and we are truly being turned into merchandise.
Unfortunately, it is not going to be possible to escape many of these influences or even fully understand who is doing what and to what degree.
Here’s a video that presents what is known as the “Dead Internet Theory” and does a good job at giving a peek into how technology can and is being used against us. The words of Jacob come to mind: “O be wise; what can I say more?” (Jacob 6:12)
